Ava Schrag was a senior at Turner Ashby High School when this photo was taken, and is now  attending Virginia Commonwealth University to study photography with a minor in environmental studies. She loves camping, hiking, traveling, learning, playing the violin, and, of course, photography. When she was younger, her days were spent with muddy feet and dirty hair, building forts and fairy houses in her backyard. Her weekends were spent camping and hiking across the state. Days spent helping her dad in the garden and creating her own botanical collection fostered a passion for conservation and sustainability, and her outdoorsy childhood inspired her love for science and the natural world. She had always toddled around the house with her tiny, point and shoot camera, but when in 6th grade, she first tried out a DSLR camera, a Canon Rebel EX. Her aunt had loaned it to her, and for a while she forgot about it.  But, one fall afternoon, she decided to pick it up and take it outside. She became fascinated with the artistic and journalistic aspects of photography and enjoyed using photography to tell her story and the stories of others. She hopes to turn her love of photography into a career in environmental journalism.

Frog: When I spied this frog in the water, I crept closer with my camera, hoping it would allow me to get close enough to get a good shot, and it did. In the evening sun, the water reflected the colors of all the rocks underneath, creating a serene, surreal pattern on the water. I stayed with the frog for a while and captured it from many different angles; this photo ended up being my favorite.